Blench (2006,[2] 2016[3]) proposes that Proto-Niger-Congo originated about 10,000 years before present in the "Green Sahara" of Africa (roughly the Sahel and southern Sahara), and that its dispersal can be correlated with the spread of the bow and arrow by migrating hunter-gatherers.
Phonology
Tones
Larry Hyman (2016) reconstructs two contrastive level tones for Proto-Niger–Congo, which are:[4][5]
*H (high tone)
*L (low tone)
Syllabic structure
Proto-Niger–Congo is traditionally assumed to have had a disyllabic root structure similar to that of Proto-Bantu, namely (C)V-CVCV[6] (Williamson 2000,[7] etc.). However, Roger Blench (2016) proposes a trisyllabic (CVCVCV) syllabic structure for Proto-Niger–Congo roots,[6] while Konstantin Pozdniakov (2016) suggests that the main prototypical structure of Proto-Niger–Congo roots is *CVC, along with disyllabic, trisyllabic, and other variations.[8]
Morphology
Noun classes
Noun classes can be reconstructed for Proto-Niger–Congo. Noun class prefixes in Proto-Niger–Congo include:[1]
noun class 1: prefix for human singular
noun class 2: prefix for human plural
noun class 6A: prefix for liquid and mass nouns ("uncountables")
Below are some Niger-Congo noun class markers (Good 2020:145,[9] from Schadeberg 1989:72[10]):
Güldemann's (2018) Proto-Niger–Congo pronoun reconstructions, for the first and second person pronouns (singular and plural), are given below.[1]
singular
plural
1st person
*mVfront
*TVclose
2nd person
*mVback
*NVclose
Numerals
Konstantin Pozdniakov (2018) has published a detailed reconstruction of Proto-Niger–Congo numerals, as well as comprehensive reconstructions for the lower-order branches of the Niger–Congo phylum. Pozdniakov (2018: 293)[12] and Güldemann (2018: 147) reconstruct the following numerals for Proto-Niger–Congo.[1]
Numeral
Proto-Niger–Congo (Pozdniakov 2018)
Proto-Niger–Congo (Güldemann 2018)
1
*ku-(n)-di (> ni/-in), *do, *gbo/*kpo
2
*ba-di
*Ri
3
*tat / *tath
*ta(C)
4
*na(h)i
*na(C)
5
*tan, *nu(n)
*nU
6
5+1
7
5+2
8
*na(i)nai (< 4 reduplicated)
9
5+4
10
*pu / *fu
20
< ‘person’
The numerals 6-9 are formed by combining lower numerals, while ‘20’ is derived from ‘person’.
Lexicon
There is currently no comprehensive, systematic reconstruction for Proto-Niger–Congo lexical roots. Nevertheless, quasi-reconstructions (preliminary, tentative reconstructions, which are marked using the number sign #) have been attempted by Roger Blench. Some examples from Blench (2016):[6]
Proto-Niger–Congo
Gloss
*keɗeri
to split, cut, break
*suŋguri
to wash (v.t.)
#tokori
chew
*siŋguri
rub, smear
*ɗumigbi
bury, dig, grave, plant
#tɪ́gbʊ́rɪ́
head
#gbukuru
tortoise, turtle
#goŋgboro
chest
#kpagara
leg, foot
#ku(n)duŋo
knee
#-bugbulu
hole
#kVnV
one
*tunuru
five
Plants
Blench (2009) lists various Niger–Congo quasi-reconstructions for plants with important economic uses (note that not all of them necessarily reconstruct to Proto-Niger–Congo). These roots are generally widespread areal forms (Wanderworts), with some of them also found in Afroasiatic and Nilo-Saharan languages.[13] A few forms are also added from some of Blench's other works (2006, 2012, 2016).
Below are some quasi-reconstructions of Niger–Congo areal forms for animal names given by Blench (2007[16]), with some reconstructions also based on Blench (2006).[2]
^ abcdGüldemann, Tom (2018). "Historical linguistics and genealogical language classification in Africa". In Güldemann, Tom (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of Africa. The World of Linguistics series. Vol. 11. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 58–444. doi:10.1515/9783110421668-002. ISBN978-3-11-042606-9.
^Hyman, Larry M. (2016). "On Reconstructing Tone in Proto-Niger-Congo". UC Berkeley Phonology Lab Annual Reports. 12. doi:10.5070/P7121040722. ISSN2768-5047.
^Williamson, Kay. 2000. Proto-Niger-Congo. In: H. Ekkehard Wolff, Orin D. Gensler (eds). Proceedings of the 2nd World Congress of African Linguistics, Leipzig 1997, pp.49-70. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe. ISBN 9783896451248.
^ abGood, Jeff. 2020. Niger-Congo, with a special focus on Benue-Congo. In: Vossen, Rainer and Gerrit J. Dimmendaal (eds.). 2020. The Oxford Handbook of African Languages, pp. 139-160. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
^Schadeberg, Thilo C. (1989). ‘Kordofanian’, in J. Bendor-Samuel (ed.). The Niger-Congo Languages: A classification and description of Africa's largest language family, 66-80. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
^Hyman, L. M. (2007). ‘Niger-Congo verb extensions: overview and discussion’, in D. L. Payne and J. Pena (eds.), Selected Proceedings of the 37th Annual Conference on African Linguistics. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla, 149-63.
^Blench, Roger M. (2012). "Vernacular names for African millets and other minor cereals and their significance for agricultural history". Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. 8 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1007/s12520-012-0104-5. ISSN1866-9557.
